Advisory Board Member Profile 2017

Fran Toolan

Fran Toolan is the founder and “Chief Igniter” of Firebrand Technologies and the CEO of NetGalley. Firebrand/NetGalley offers book publishers software applications and technology services that help them manage their publishing projects and dealings with their marketing, distribution, wholesale, retail, consumer and review communities.

A Rutgers ’81 graduate with a BA in Computer Science, Fran had the good fortune to spend the first part of his career working with some of the leading minds in the early days of relational database technology. Fran founded Firebrand in 1987 with the mission of helping book publishers streamline product development, author royalties, and production operations.

Since that time, much has changed in the book industry, and the mission of Firebrand and NetGalley is now to help make books more successful. In that capacity, data management, reporting, and visualization are of great importance. The companies work with over 500 publishers in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.

Fran also serves on the executive committee of the Book Industry Study Group (BISG). BISG is the central trade organization for the Book Industry that serves all companies in the book industry value chain by developing research, technology standards, and best practices.